The United Kingdom has pledged to invest over US$385 million in Myanmar in two years time, according to statistics of the Directorate of Investment and Company Registration.
The UK invested... [ More ]

RANGOON — Burma’s Central Bank has decided to allow foreigners to withdraw cash from their foreign-currency accounts on every working day, according to local bankers.
The new move will assist foreigners residing in Burma, who were previously limited to two withdrawals of up to US $10,000 per week.
“It’s true that we have been instructed to authorize disbursements to foreigners of up to $10,000 a day on every office day,” confirmed Than Zaw, the chairman of the privately owned Ayeyawady...

After more than a decade of isolation from the West, exporters in Myanmar are reconnecting with the European Union, which is considering the import of all commercial goods from the country free of tax - a preferential treatment the manufacturers in the Pearl River Delta could only dream of.
"We are now starting to sell flip-flop sandals to Italy since the sanctions from the EU have been suspended," said a proud Kyaw Zin Htet, a second-generation Chinese migrant to Myanmar who now manages...

"Arrangements are under way to invite bidding for about two dozen offshore blocks in April. The significance of this round will be that investors won't have to enter mandatory joint ventures with local companies," said the official, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The ministry invited bidding for 18 onshore blocks in January.
"The closing date for that round is on March 16. After that we plan to open another round for about 25 offshore blocks,...

You know that a country’s tourism industry is really taking off when a Hilton hotel moves in – particularly when that country has faced years of US sanctions. The buzz on the sidelines of Myanmar’s first tourism industry conference this week in Yangon was about Hilton Worldwide’s landmark deal to manage a 300-room hotel in the tallest building in central Yangon: Centrepoint Towers.
Hilton is remaining quiet ahead of an announcement next month: “We can’t comment on any deals under...

Country roads once dominated by old Japanese cars will soon see a new set of wheels in town as Ford prepares to brings its cars and trucks to Myanmar.
Ford's first showroom will open in Yangon and will be selling vehicles as soon as May, the Associated Press reported.
A Ford spokesman declined to discuss details, but indicated to the AP that the company is "gearing up for market entry."
Myanmar loosened vehicle import restrictions in 2011, which transformed the commercial capital...

The US has taken further steps to ease restrictions on US corporate investment and business activities in Myanmar, following intense debate within the US Treasury and the State department after Washington softened sanctions against the country last July.
The move frees US citizens and companies to conduct business with four of the country’s biggest banks, of a total 19 banks. All four banks have faced US sanctions and at least two of the institutions are controlled by people who have been...

While other countries may be more reliable and better equipped, Myanmar has emerged as the new promised land for global oil and gas giants unperturbed by a lack of data on its proven energy reserves.
Since political reforms helped Myanmar shed its pariah status and prompted international sanctions to be lifted, the world’s major energy firms have been eyeing the potentially oil-and-gas-rich country tucked between China and India.
Thai explorer PTTEP, EPI Holdings of Hong Kong, Swiss firm...

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., Southeast Asia’s biggest phone company, wants to focus on wireless services in Myanmar as it vies for the right to operate in one of the world’s last untapped mobile markets.
SingTel sent in its expression of interest for a phone license in the nation last month and is awaiting further details on the bidding process and terms of the permit, Chief Executive Officer Chua Sock Koong said in a Bloomberg Television interview with Haslinda Amin...

The distant South Pacific island nation of New Zealand is making its mark on Myanmar soil and looking to transfer its agricultural prowess in milk production and dairy manufacturing to farmers in the Southeast Asian country.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key recently toured Myanmar’s major cities of Yangon and Naypyitaw and pledged NZ $6 million in development funding for a model dairy farm, the first of its kind in Myanmar.
Mr Key, the first ever New Zealand prime minister to visit...

A window of opportunity has been created by the enactment of the Foreign Investment Law and, on January 31, the rules determining investments, a foreign law firm working in Myanmar said last week.
The Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development released the 100-page document, which details prohibited and restricted sectors, as well as the exemptions different ministries may grant, on January 31.
As The Myanmar Times reported last week, the role and responsibilities of the...

The Burmese or Myanmar script developed from the Mon script, which was adapted from a southern Indian script during the 8th century. The earliest known inscriptions in the Burmese script date from the 11th... ... More